Schools

Over the next few weeks, roughly 79 million students will head back to schools around the nation, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. When the school year resumes, so too will the perpetual cycle of students missing days of school because they fear bullying. Each day, it is estimated that 160,000 students stay home from school to avoid being bullied.

“The first step in preventing bullying is to realize that we all share common traits and we all need to feel safe, accepted, and liked for who we are,” explains Peter J. Goodman, author of the book “We’re All Different But We’re All Kitty Cats.” “One of the main themes in my book is tolerance, because it is crucial, especially when we live in such a diverse world.”

With the new school year right around the corner, incoming college freshman may be getting anxious: Tons of homework, strict professors, HEAVY books, too many parties, and a campus that’s ten times the size of your high school! But fear not my fellow terrapins; we've got some tips to help you have a successful semester.

Our Top Five Tips

1)Sit up front in all of your classes It’s easy to get behind in big lecture classes with 300 students in them. Sitting behind rows of students can be distracting. To ensure that you hear what the professor is saying, and see what they are writing on the board, sit as close to the front as you can.

Fresh Healthy Vending and Healthy Child Healthy World have teamed up to give away a free healthy vending machine placement. The winning entry will choose their favorite location to have the machine placed, completely stocked with healthy foods and beverages. The move is the latest in a series of ongoing efforts to help fight childhood obesity, an issue that the Centers for Disease Control says now affects 17 percent of all children and adolescents in America.

“The rate of childhood obesity is considered to be triple what it was a generation ago,” explains Dan Negroni, the chief executive officer and president of Fresh Healthy Vending Café (www.freshvending.com). “Our mission is to be part of the solution in fighting childhood obesity, and this is just one more way that we are helping to do that. Now at least one lucky consumer will have their say on where a healthy vending machine should be placed.”

Cuban-actor William Levy, known for his role in Mexican soap operas and this year's Dancing with the Stars third runner up, is encouraging Latino youth across America to take advantage of educational grants and awards offered by the Washington-based Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF).

As this year's Hispanic Heritage Youth Awards spokesperson, Levy urges Latino high school students who serve as leaders and role models in the classroom to apply before the prestigious Youth Awards no later than July 6, 2012.

Students will be selected for their accomplishments in the classroom and community, which focus in various categories including: Math & Engineering, Education, Business, Healthcare & Science, Community Service, among others. Three students will be selected from each of these categories in the following 10 markets: Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, San Jose/San Francisco-Bay Area, Phoenix, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, Washington, DC, and New Yo

Buffett and David Rubenstein, The Economic Club of Washington, DC's President, are among business leaders at 25th anniversary celebration on June 5th where 10 community organizations, including the Alexandria Seaport Foundation, received a total of $500,000 in grants

The Alexandria Seaport Foundation (ASF), which offers disadvantaged youth and young adults a paid, work-based apprentice program in boat building that prepares participants for careers in the building trades, received a $50,000 grant from The Economic Club of Washington, D.C. at its 25th anniversary on June 5th at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park.

Two Anne Arundel County Public School seniors have received scholarships through the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

Congratulations William Ewing of South River High School, and Christopher Eurle of Severna Park High School. Ewing will pursue computer science studies funded by Case Western University and Eurle will study medicine at the University of Maryland.

These college-sponsored awards range between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation plans to announce another group of college-sponsored scholarship winners this summer across the country.

The following information was sent to us by Prince George's County Public Schools:

A film by students in the Climate, Ocean and Weather (COW) Institute at Drew-Freeman Middle School was selected as a finalist in the KQED Science Youth Media Festival in San Francisco.

Drew-Freeman’s submission, “Ocean Acidification,” will be shown at the festival on June 10. The film highlights research by Dr. Jane Lubcheno, undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere, about the effects of increased carbon dioxide levels on marine life. Students at the Suitland school performed two experiments in the film that allowed them to see the effects of increasing carbonic acid levels on the skeletons of marine life.